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ZANESVILLE — A widow facing foreclosure has paid back taxes on the rural property where she and
her husband once housed dozens of exotic animals before deputies were forced to shoot and kill most
of them last year.

Marian Thompson, who had owed $14,000 for her 70 acres in eastern Ohio near Zanesville, paid
that money yesterday.

Thompson’s husband, Terry W. Thompson, had owed the taxes before he freed more than 50 bears,
leopards, lions, primates, tigers and wolves in October, then committed suicide. Authorities were
forced to shoot dozens of the animals to protect the public. Only six survived.

Muskingum County Prosecutor Michael Haddox said his office sent Marian Thompson a letter in
November to resolve the tax matters and warn of potential legal action. She faced possible
foreclosure on the land.

Thompson’s payment comes a week after two surviving leopards, two primates and a bear were
returned to the farm. They had been held for months at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium under a state
quarantine order that Thompson challenged.

A sixth animal, a leopard, was hurt in an accident while being held at the zoo and had to be
euthanized. The five animals were released back into Thompson’s care after test results showed they
all were free of dangerous contagious or infectious diseases. Haddox had earlier defended his
office’s foreclosure notices on the property.

“We want to be zealous in our pursuit of those not paying their taxes, but also we want to also
be fair,” he said. “We understand the economy is bad right now and understand that people are
having hardships. But then there are some people who just refuse to pay. That’s when we have to
take action.”

Court records also show several tax liens, indicating Thompson owes tens of thousands of
dollars. One from June 2010 is for more than $16,000, and another from later that year was for more
than $39,600.

Nothing currently in Ohio law allows state officials to check on the animals’ welfare or require
improvements to conditions in which they are kept. The state Department of Agriculture has said
that would be up to local authorities.